The Finals just launched its biggest season yet. Season 9: Dragon Rising dropped on December 10, 2025, bringing an entirely new Chinese-inspired megacity map, a chaotic 8v8 game mode, and sweeping changes to how progression works. Developer Embark Studios is kicking off Year 3 by turning everything up to 11, and the community response suggests they nailed it.
Welcome to Fangwai City
The centerpiece of Season 9 is Fangwai City, a sprawling futuristic Chinese metropolis that blends ancient temples with towering skyscrapers and vibrant neon lights. The map features dense residential areas, ornate architectural details, and at least one massive holographic dragon winding through the skyline. It’s visually stunning and designed to support the season’s new 8v8 mode with plenty of vertical gameplay and destruction opportunities.
Fangwai City also debuts the game’s enhanced destruction system. Building-scale demolition is more detailed than ever before, with improved debris physics, better visual effects, and overall performance upgrades. The destruction actually affects gameplay in meaningful ways, with collapsing structures dealing impact damage to players caught underneath. While the system launches with Fangwai City and Monaco, Embark plans to roll it out across all maps throughout Season 9.
Point Break Brings 8v8 Mayhem
Point Break is the headline feature for Season 9. This new core game mode pits two teams of eight players against each other in objective-based warfare where attackers must arm and destroy targets while defenders try to stop them. Think of it as Cashout turned up to maximum chaos with double the players and constantly shifting frontlines.
The mode delivers a rolling battle where the stakes increase with every phase. Teams split between attack and defense roles, creating a rhythm completely different from the standard Cashout experience. With 16 players fighting over objectives simultaneously, matches get messy fast. The increased player count transforms how gadgets, abilities, and destruction interact, forcing teams to coordinate on a scale The Finals hasn’t required before.
World Tour 2.0 Changes Everything
Season 9 completely overhauls progression with World Tour 2.0. The biggest change is that every game mode now contributes to your seasonal progress. Previously, different modes felt siloed with separate reward tracks. Now the World Tour page unifies everything, letting you earn rewards regardless of whether you’re playing Cashout, Bank It, or Point Break.
The reward system also gets more player-friendly. Instead of the game automatically assigning rewards, you now choose what you unlock from available options. This flexibility means you can prioritize cosmetics, weapon skins, or other items based on your preferences rather than grinding through unwanted rewards to reach the good stuff. The Battle Pass receives a refresh alongside these changes, though Embark hasn’t detailed exactly what that entails.
Double Jeopardy Adds Risk to Cashout
Cashout mode gets a spicy new mechanic called Double Jeopardy. Players can now choose to double a cashout for potentially massive rewards, but failure comes with consequences. If you double your own cashout and fail to complete it, you lose money. The risk-reward calculation adds tension to late-game situations where teams must decide whether playing it safe or gambling for double makes strategic sense.
The exact mechanics around doubling opponent cashouts remain somewhat unclear, but it appears you can also lose funds if you steal a doubled cashout but fail to secure it through completion. This introduces psychological warfare elements where teams might bait opponents into risky plays or avoid doubled cashouts altogether if the situation looks unfavorable.
Balance Changes and Quality of Life
Season 9 brings substantial balance adjustments across the board. The winch claw now gets blocked by both mesh and dome shields, addressing a common complaint about its overwhelming utility. The KS-23 shotgun receives improved accuracy, while various weapon models get faster reload speeds. Embark added aim snapping to several weapons but increased the cooldown from 0.5 to 0.7 seconds, with an additional 1.5-second cooldown on specific mechanics to prevent abuse.
Customization options expand significantly. Players can now personalize the tablet used for deploying gadgets and randomize skin selections for variety. The preview system for cosmetics, stickers, borders, and player cards all received improvements. Performance upgrades touch multiple areas, starting with smoother instant replays supported by new download systems and backend improvements. Late-join behavior now properly syncs map destruction when entering ongoing matches.
Small Details That Matter
Embark didn’t ignore the little things. Team icons and dedicated team wipe notifications now appear in the elimination feed for both players and spectators. Specialization icons display on player health bars with options to show or hide them. Monaco received several small fixes including a simplified basement layout in the entrance building and adjusted map borders that no longer cut through jump pads.
The spectator mode got attention too, fixing bugs that prevented switching between contestants in private matches. UI improvements include better friendly opacity when enemy color options are enabled, and weapon and gadget previews no longer appear offset in the customization tab.
FAQs
When did The Finals Season 9 launch?
Season 9: Dragon Rising launched on December 10, 2025, across all platforms including PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and NVIDIA GeForce Now.
What is the new map in Season 9?
Fangwai City is a futuristic Chinese megacity featuring ancient temples, towering skyscrapers, neon lights, residential areas, and a massive holographic dragon. It showcases the game’s enhanced destruction system with building-scale demolition.
What is Point Break mode?
Point Break is a new 8v8 core game mode where teams split between attackers and defenders. Attackers aim to arm and demolish objectives while defenders try to stop them, creating a rolling battle with constantly shifting frontlines.
What changed with World Tour 2.0?
World Tour 2.0 unifies progression across all game modes, meaning every match type contributes to seasonal advancement. Players can now choose their rewards instead of receiving automatic assignments, and the sponsor system received flexibility improvements.
What is Double Jeopardy in Cashout?
Double Jeopardy is a new Cashout mechanic that lets players double a cashout for increased rewards. However, if you fail to complete a doubled cashout, you lose money, adding risk-reward calculations to late-game strategy.
When does Season 9 end?
Season 9 runs until March 18, 2026, giving players over three months to explore Fangwai City, master Point Break, and unlock seasonal rewards.
What balance changes came with Season 9?
Major changes include winch claw getting blocked by shields, improved KS-23 accuracy, faster reload speeds for multiple weapons, and adjusted aim snapping cooldowns. Numerous other weapon and gadget tweaks also arrived.
Is the enhanced destruction system on all maps?
Not yet. The enhanced destruction system launches with Fangwai City and Monaco, but Embark plans to gradually implement it across all maps throughout Season 9.
Why This Season Matters
Season 9 represents The Finals at its most ambitious. After launching in December 2023, the game carved out a niche as one of the most destruction-focused multiplayer shooters available, but it struggled with player retention and mode variety. Dragon Rising addresses both issues head-on by adding a completely different play style with Point Break while making progression feel rewarding across all modes. The enhanced destruction system shows Embark isn’t just coasting on existing technology but actively pushing what their engine can do. Early community reaction suggests this might be the best trailer Embark has produced, with clear visuals that actually communicate what makes the game special. Whether Season 9 can sustain momentum through March 2026 remains to be seen, but right now The Finals feels more alive than it has in months.